With the number of Covid-19 cases increasing in Kerala, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday asked his counterparts from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to increase the pace of vaccination in the bordering districts to contain the inter-state spread.
While reviewing the epidemic situation following the Kerala surge, Mandaviya in a telephonic conversation with the two state ministers discussed the strategies that need to be followed in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – two states bordering Kerala – so that the number of new cases doesn't flare up.
The Union government also wants the imposition of a strategic lockdown and better monitoring of cases in home isolation even though the state is opposed to such a curb because of the livelihood issues that the traders faced in the last few months.
"There was hesitancy to impose lockdown and strategic containment measures for reducing transmission intensity even as the Malabar state was contributing to three-fourth of the new daily Covid-19 cases," a government source said.
"With over 85% of positive patients in home isolation," sources said, "the state should implement the containment guidelines more strictly as over the last few weeks such guidelines were not being followed properly in several areas, leading to the spread of infection."
The high test positivity rate of more than 20% in a few districts is evidence of intense virus circulation.
Kerala reported 32,803 new Covid cases and 173 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the infection count to over 40 lakhs and nearly 21,000 deaths. The test positivity rate for the state was 18.76%.
(Published 01 September 2021, 15:02 IST)
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